Military contractor Boeing has delivered the last of six
transporter aircraft to the UAE military as part of an agreement signed in
early 2010.
The US firm handed over the last of the promised C-17 Globemaster
III airlifters to the UAE Air Force and Air Defence earlier in June at an
assembly facility in California.
The craft are used for strategic airlift of troops and cargo
between military bases, in addition to medical evacuation and airdrop missions.
Boeing signed the initial deal to provide the six Globemasters
in January 2010. Four of the C-17s were delivered in 2011, while the fifth was
handed over in May 2011.
The value of that contract was not made public by Boeing,
but according to reports a single C-17 unit sells for about US$250m.
Boeing says it has delivered 244 of the aircraft globally
since their introduction in 1993. The US Air Force has bought 216 of them,
while 28 in total have been sold to Australia, Qatar, the UAE and the UK.
India has ten C-17s scheduled for delivery in 2013 and 2014.
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